Disposable Plastic Air Stone

Hi Folks,
I recently started aerating my wort with an aquarium air pump. I bought a 2 micron stainless steel diffuser, but no matter how carefully I handled it, the damn thing is clogged.
I found this today at Petco.

http://picasaweb.google.com/edbourne/RabbitHareHairBrewery/photo#5230449386906455906

It's a disposable plastic diffuser. It comes 6 to a pack, and I figured being it's plastic, I can sanitize it. They have fine bubble too, but I'm going to try the course one first. Has anyone used this or something like it with success? Any thoughts?

This is my aeration set-up....
http://picasaweb.google.com/edbourne/RabbitHareHairBrewery/photo#5230449388617217042

Ever try boiling the SS stone in clean water before and after every use?

Dr Vorlauf said:

Ever try boiling the SS stone in clean water before and after every use?

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Yes, in fact the first time I boiled it, it totally seized up. Thats why I was searching for an alternative.

I used an aquarium stone for aeration but eventually bought an SS stone because the aquarium stone didn't take well to boil-sanitizing and I didn't trust liquid sanitizer to be able to penetrate all the little pores in the stone. The stones got really crumbly after boiling. I've never tried a plastic stone before though.

edbees said:

Yes, in fact the first time I boiled it, it totally seized up. Thats why I was searching for an alternative.

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Same problem with mine. I just use the pump to pump air out of the hose for ~20 min, seems to work fine...

edbees said:

Hi Folks,
I recently started aerating my wort with an aquarium air pump. I bought a 2 micron stainless steel diffuser, but no matter how carefully I handled it, the damn thing is clogged.

Click to expand...

Might be a dumb question on my part but when you say "Handled it" you dont actually mean with your bare hands? Mine came with a warning that the oils on your hands will clog the SS diffuser. I wear latex gloves when I work with the .5 micron diffuser and I also boil it to sanitize.

springer said:

Might be a dumb question on my part but when you say "Handled it" you dont actually mean with your bare hands? Mine came with a warning that the oils on your hands will clog the SS diffuser. I wear latex gloves when I work with the .5 micron diffuser and I also boil it to sanitize.

Click to expand...

I never touched it with my bare hands. I cut open the sealed bag it came in then I used the plastic to hold it.

The stainless steel stones will last a lifetime when properly cared for. If they seize on you, there is hope. After 7 years of heavy use on my 0.5 micron stone, boiling in water after each use and a forced air dry, it finally clogged completely. I thought all was lost, but I made a fairly strong PBW solution and boiled the stone for about 5 minutes, then rinsed it thoroughly and it completely came back to life. In fact, it works so well now that I realized it just became progressively more clogged over the years and I just never noticed the decline in performance. I'm putting the PBW boil as part of a regular maintenance item.

Prosit!